1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicles and, more specifically, to a vehicle with a device to toe wheels of the vehicle toward one another in the event of an impact or collision of sufficient predetermined force on the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that vehicles such as automotive vehicles may collide with another vehicle or with some structure which can damage the vehicle. As a result, automotive vehicles are designed to contain an occupant(s) in an occupant compartment of the vehicle in the unfortunate event of a collision or impact on the vehicle. One of the design parameters of the automotive vehicle is to minimize possible G-force loading on the occupant in the event of a collision. One of the ways to accomplish this is to maximize, to the extent practical, the amount of space in the occupant compartment that the occupant can "ride down" during a collision such that the occupant's deceleration rate is lowered.
It is also known that automotive vehicles have wheels disposed at a forward position, relatively speaking, on such vehicles. In the event of a substantial impact, the disposition of the wheels can be a factor in the deceleration rate of the occupants in the vehicle. Since the wheels are relatively stiff, they can increase the deceleration rate for the occupants if the collision is severe and if the wheels are disposed substantially perpendicular to the object with which the vehicle collides. As a result, there is a need to reduce the factor created by the wheels in a collision scenario in order to lower the deceleration rate of the occupant in the event of a substantial collision on the vehicle.